324 



Letters from Switzerland, ^c. 



[Nov. ], 



and two piTcioiis MSS., kept in the libra- 

 ry of til ' Cijincnt of Benedictines, were a 

 prey to the liames. 



At Troas, three hours walk from 

 hence, tlie cafcades which fa!! from the 

 rocks precipitate likewife a great and 

 beautiful variety of tiranites and green 

 fiones of dillerent Ihadefi. At Trons is the 

 finclt view in the whole Grifon League. 

 At the entrance of the village I beheld 

 the ancient and refj^^rtable oak under 

 tile fliade of which I'icrre de Piitlingcn, 

 abbot of Delientis, Jean Brun, Lord of 

 lloetfuns, and tlie Count ,1o;iu de Sax, in 

 1421, formed the firft confederacy, which 

 infured the liberty of the whole Grifoii 

 iiCjigr.e. 1 arrived foon after at Ueiche- 

 ))i!!i, where twoof rirubenniaim'5 bridges 

 formerly erolfed the river, which were 

 deitroyed in llie revohition. From Rei- 

 chenau 1 ttiok the dili'^ence to- C'oire, 

 tl;e cliicC place in the Grifon Lea;;iie, 

 which has a chapel of St. Luejus, cele- 

 brated as a pilgrimage, and a confi- 

 derablc trade in dried fruits, peri- 

 uiuklcs, and Ibur-kroiit. It was the inn- 

 keeper Mathis of Coire who conftanily 

 diriinguilhed hiinfelf iu the revolutionary 

 ^^ ;n- at the head of the peafants. (ioing 

 from Coire to Claris, I palled the village 

 of Elm, remarkable for a round cavity 

 pierced through the fuinmit of tlie moun- 

 tain Fiil/abar. On the yd, 4th, and 5th 

 of March, and 14th, l.'ith, and l(jth of 

 September, old ilyle, the Sun partes be- 

 hind this cavity, which appears to be 

 about three feet in diameter, when ^ecn 

 from the village. On the 4th and 5th 

 \«^u fee the dilk of the Sun fully, which 

 fliines on the village-clock. You will 

 cafily conceive the elevation of this 

 mountain, when I tell you, that the ^i!- 

 liige of Lhn, which is Iheltcred by it, is 

 de,)rived in winter of the fight of tlie 

 Sun for iix weeks. ■ In this village there 

 was a young girl, who, in the rcvojution- 

 ary war, attacked two rrench cannons, 

 that were dragging auairtt lier country- 

 men, and by that means gave them an 

 opuortunity of rallying. 



Ghiris was very populous b fore the 

 revolution, and greatly concerned in th.e 

 cotton-manufaeiory. Since the war, the 

 refiftancc of tlic inhabitants, togetiier 

 with the flay and rc»r]uifitions of the fo- 

 reign troops, have dimiuilhed the popu- 

 lation necirly one-third, and done intiuite 

 d:unage to their induliry. It was to tho 

 CHUton of Claris that a melancholy 

 cri)v\(l of children and orphans fled from 

 the fc^ne of llatighter, to leek a home 

 ,-ind a livhig. From liiC town of Claris 



I made an excurfion to Kloenthal, one 

 of the molt interefting ^ allies in Switzer- 

 land, and particularly fo now, for having 

 afforded a palfagc to the hardy Suvvar- 

 row on.his adventurous march over the 

 Alps, by vviiys liithcrto iuaccefiible, 

 which he and his army were obliged ti> 

 pafs without provifKjns, fighting and drag- 

 ging their cannons. 



1 flept at Nacfels, on my way to Fin- 

 fiedcln. The lields of Naefels have iin- 

 morlalized tlie intiepidity and heroifin - 

 of the Swifs, who jjerformed prodigies of 

 valour in the glorious battle of 1388, and 

 that of 179a. The next morning I pro- 

 ceeded to Einfiedehi, whofc abbey was 

 the Loretto of Switzerland before the re- 

 volution. During the troubles both the 

 town and the alibey experienced a 

 double plunder. The nmnks fled to 

 Suabia, the piigrima;;*? cc d'ed, and with 

 it vanilhed the trade that had fupportcd 

 the inhaiiitiints. The whole place was 

 converter! into a fcjenc of rlefolation and 

 mifery, and more than half the jieople 

 would have- pcrilhed with hunger had 

 they not rtroived charitable afliflance 

 from quarters more fortunate. The pil-. 

 grimage is rcommenciug as ufiial ; the 

 pricils are returned ; and the Image of 

 the A'irgin, that had fled, is now brought 

 back, and again difplaved tor public ve- 

 neration. 



Leaving Finfifdoln, I afcended the 

 mountain called the Schweirerhaken, 

 which is a delightful walk to Schvvlt?., tlio 

 famous phice 1 hat gave its name to all 

 Switzerland. Its arnuiury afforded a rich 

 plunder to the French, and its neigh- 

 bourhood, which is of confideral^le e>i- 

 tent, fuU'ered iminenfely, not by fire or 

 plunder, (this latter mi^fort^.ne ha\ing 

 ijefallen only the houfe of Reding,) but 

 by the Itay of foreign troops fi%:a all na- 

 tions. Endlefs rcquifitions, quartering 

 and AuMling of foldiers, could not fail 

 exhaufling a country producing little elfc 

 than grals and hay, and i4!i])ortii)g it's 

 corn, wine, and even vegetables, from 

 other parts. Yet they now begin to re- 

 cover, and in foinc meafure to forget 

 their diltrelfes. 



It 'vas at the opening i:;to the JMuttcn- 

 thal, a valley-not tar from Schwitz, which 

 was devaltatod and delu-icd with humati 

 bloofl, that th.e army ot Sawarrovv was 

 on the point of fruitrating the plan of 

 MaHena in two fierce engagements. 



A little to the right of Schwitz I vifited 



the Lake of Lowertz, fitunted amidft the 



mountains. The view of the two ilTanris 



in the clciu' waters of the lake, aiul the. 



folemn 



